Share

Bloomberg TV's Matt Miller thought he was getting in the Christmas spirit when he surprised his colleagues with $20 worth of Bitcoin apiece — enough to buy two turtledoves and a partridge in a pear tree (through a Chinese e-dealer on a black-market exotic-animal exchange).

But the gift, which was part of a "12 Days of Bitcoin" series, went sour when Adam Johnson, one of Miller's colleagues, briefly exposed the QR code for the private key on his Bitcoin gift certificate – effectively putting his bank account number and PIN on national TV. Naturally, a few seconds later, a hacker scanned the QR code and stole the Bitcoin. Miller took to Reddit and congratulated the hacker for "a GREAT lesson in Bitcoin security! you can keep the $20 — well earned."

It's a heartwarming Christmas tale, like the ones your grandpa used to tell.